Assessing Pediatric Faculty Perceptions of Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment

Background: Background
Physicians who identify as women experience gender discrimination and sexual harassment in academic medicine. Although Pediatrics has reported more women than men since 1989, it is likely that gender-based inequities exist. We aimed to examine hospital-based pediatricians' experiences with gender discrimination and sexual harassment.

Methods: Methods
An anonymous survey was distributed to all faculty in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington. Survey items included demographic data and a modified version of the Overt Gender Discrimination at Work (ODGW) Scale, questions about the frequency with which the faculty member experienced/witnessed discriminatory treatment, and questions about experiences with sexual harassment. Surveys also asked whether these experiences negatively impacted confidence and career advancement. We hypothesized that women would report more discrimination and harassment than men. Responses were summarized using frequencies and percentages. Male and female responses were compared using Chi squared tests.

Results: Results
Of 524 Pediatrics faculty, 290 (55%) completed the survey. Women more commonly reported feeling they have been treated unfairly due to gender than men (50% vs. 4%, p<0.01) and feeling gender was a limitation (35% vs. 4%, p<0.01). Women also reported discriminatory treatment at least annually (51% vs. 4%, p<0.01) and reported encountering sexist remarks, unwanted attention, or advances (24% vs. 15%, p=0.08). More women reported that these discriminatory experiences negatively impacted their confidence and their career advancement (48% and 50%, respectively) compared to men (12% and 9%, p<0.01). Additionally, women who identified as Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and Mixed race or Other reported a higher rate of being treated unfairly due to their gender as compared to their peers. See Table 1.

Conclusion: Conclusion
Consistent with literature prior to pediatrics being dominated by women, faculty who identify as women in pediatrics report greater instances of of gender discrimination and harassment than men, regardless of the amount of women in the majority. Further studies are needed to determine if this bias exists at other institutions and to assess how this gender bias affects attrition and how these results affect direct specific efforts aimed at eliminating gender discrimination and harassment within Pediatrics.